Newport (Isle of Wight) Football Club is a semi-pro

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club based in Newport on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

, England. They are currently members of the and they currently groundshare at East Cowes Vics' Beatrice Avenue ground. The club is majority owned by a Supporters Trust.

History

The club was established on 27 January 1888,Newport (IW) FC – Brief History
Horndean F.C. and were founder members of the Isle of Wight League in 1898.History
Isle of Wight FA They won the Isle of Wight Challenge Cup in 1904–05,
RSSSF and again in 1907–08, when they were also league champions. The club went on to retain the league title for the next two years. After winning the league again in 1923–24, they moved up to the East Section of the

Hampshire League The Hampshire League was a football league in Hampshire, England. During its heyday its constitution consisted of four divisions with over 60 clubs taking part - this included a vast number of semi-professional teams and Reserve/’A’ sides o ...

.Hampshire League 1919–1929
Non-League Matters They won the Isle of Wight Memorial Cup in 1925–26, before being moved into the County Section of the Hampshire League in 1927 and then the South Division the following year as the league was restructured. They won the Isle of Wight Challenge Cup again in 1928–29. In 1929 Newport were placed in Division One of the league and went on to win the league title in the 1929–30 season,
Non-League Matters also winning the Isle of Wight Senior Cup. They were Division One runners-up the following season and again in 1931–32, a season in which the club also won the

Hampshire Senior Cup The Hampshire Senior Cup is a cup competition open to football teams affiliated with the Hampshire Football Association. The competition was founded in 1887 and has been contested every year since, except 1914 to 1919 when it was postponed due t ...

for the first time. They went on to win the Division One title for a second time in 1932–33. The 1935–36 season saw them finish as runners-up in the division, as well as reaching the first round of the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

for the first time; after beating Yeovil & Petters United 1–0 in the first round, they lost 8–0 at

Southall Southall () is a large suburban town in West London, England, part of the London Borough of Ealing and is one of its seven major towns. It is situated west of Charing Cross and had a population of 69,857 as of 2011. It is generally divided ...

in the second. The club went on to win a third league title in 1938–39. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the club returned to the Isle of Wight League, returning to the Hampshire League after the war. In the

1945–46 FA Cup The 1945–46 FA Cup was the 65th season of the world's oldest football cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, generally known as the FA Cup, and the first to be held after the Second World War. Derby County were the winners, ...

they defeated

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club, commonly referred to as Orient, is a professional association football club based in Leyton, Waltham Forest, London, England. The team compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. ...

3–1 on aggregate in the first round (to date, their only FA Cup win over a League club) before losing 12–0 to

Aldershot Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...

in the second round. The club were Hampshire League champions in 1949–50,Hampshire League 1948–1960
Non-League Matters starting a decade of sustained success for the club. After finishing as runners-up in Division One in 1951–52, Newport were Hampshire League champions in 1952–53, a season which saw another first round appearance in the

, losing 5–0 at

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...

. They retained the league title the following season and also faced Swindon in the FA Cup first round again, this time losing 2–1. In 1954–55 they were Hampshire League runners-up and lost 4–3 at Hinckley Athletic in the first round of the FA Cup. The 1956–57 season saw the club crowned champions for a fifth time in ten years, with another

first round appearance resulting in a 6–0 defeat at home to

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

. Further appearances in the FA Cup first round in 1957–58 and 1958–59 ending with defeats to

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'Th ...

and

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1886, the club were inaugur ...

. Although the club were Division One runners-up in 1958–59, the following season saw them finish in the bottom three of the division. In 1968–69 they finished bottom of Division One and were relegated to Division Two. Newport were Division Two runners-up in 1970–71, earning promotion back to Division One.Hampshire League 1970–1980
Non-League Matters They were Division One runners-up in 1977–78 and won the league title the following season. The club went on to retain the league title for the next two seasons. In 1986 they were founder members of the

Wessex League The Wessex Football League, known as the Velocity Wessex Football League for sponsorship reasons, is an English regional men's football league in southern England. Its members are primarily from Hampshire and Dorset, but clubs from adjoining co ...

. After finishing as runners-up in 1989–90, they moved up to the Southern Division of the Southern League. In 1994–95 the club reached the FA Cup first round for the first time since the 1950s, losing 3–2 at home to Aylesbury United. The following season saw them reach the first round again, before losing 2–1 to Enfield in a replay. The club were transferred to the Eastern Division in 1999 and were Eastern Division champions in 2000–01, earning promotion to the Premier Division. However, they were relegated back to the Eastern Division after only a single season. In 2004 Newport were transferred to Division One of the

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional Association football, football league covering Greater London, East of England, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, th ...

, where they played for two seasons before being moved into Division One South & West of the Southern League. The 2007–08 season saw them finish bottom of Division One South & West, resulting in relegation back to the Premier Division of the Wessex League.

Ground

The club initially played at Well's Field, which was later renamed Church LittenNewport IOW
Wessex League before moving to St Georges Park. Newport played at Smallbrook Stadium from 2022 to 2023, after agreeing a two-year deal with Ryde Saints and the Isle of Wight Warriors. They currently ground share Beatrice Avenue with East Cowes Vics. The club are awaiting a promised new stadium build by developers South Coast Leisure (SCL) at The Racecourse, between Newport and Wootton Bridge. SCL cannot open their proposed retail development on the site of St Georges Park until the club is handed the keys of a newly built ground.

Honours

*Southern League **Eastern Division champions (1) 2000–01 *Hampshire League **Division One champions (11) 1929–30, 1932–33, 1938–39, 1947–48, 1949–50, 1952–53, 1953–54, 1956–57, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1980–81 *Isle of Wight League **Champions (4) 1907–08, 1908–09, 1909–10, 1923–24 * Hampshire Senior Cup **Winners (10) 1931–32, 1932–33, 1935–36, 1951–52, 1954–55, 1960–61, 1965–66, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1997–98 *Russell Cotes Cup **Winners (4) 1977–78, 1978–79, 1979–80, 2010–11 *Pickford Cup **Winners (4) 1947–48, 1948–49, 1949–50, 1952–53 *Isle of Wight Senior Cup **Winners (43) 1929–30, 1935–36, 1937–38, 1939–40, 1944–45, 1945–46, 1946–47, 1948–49, 1952–53 (shared with Cowes) 1953–44, 1957–58, 1965–66, 1967–68, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1980–81, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1989–90, 1991–92, 1992–93,1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2020-21 *Hampshire Floodlit Cup **Winners (2) 1976–77, 1977–78 *Hampshire Intermediate Cup **Winners (2) 1931–32, 1996–97 *Hampshire Combination Cup **Winners (1) 1938–39 *Isle of Wight Memorial Cup **Winners (8) 1925–26, 1940–41, 1941–42, 1942–43, 1944–45, 1976–77, 1980–81, 1981–82 *Isle of Wight Challenge Cup **Winners (6) 1904–05, 1907–08, 1928–29, 1953–54, 1985–86, 2000–01 *Isle of Wight Charity Cup **Winners (2) 1928–29, 1944–45 *Isle of Wight Jubilee Cup **Winners (1) 1973–74

Records

*Best

performance: Second round, 1935–36, 1945–46 *Best

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, also known as the Isuzu FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after The Football Association (the FA) and competed by mainly National League ...

performance: Fourth round, 1999–2000 *Best

FA Vase The Football Association Challenge Vase, also known as the Isuzu FA Vase for sponsorship reasons, is an annual football competition run by and named after The Football Association (The FA), for teams playing in Steps 5 and 6 of the English Nation ...

performance: Fifth round, 1991–92, 1992–93 *Record attendance: 2,270 vs

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

, friendly match, 7 July 2001Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2016) ''Non-League Club Directory 2017'', Tony Williams Publications, p453 *Most appearances: Jeff Austin, 540 (1969–1987) *Most goals: Roy Grilfillan, 200 (1951–1957)

References

External links